Improvement in carpet-cleaners



' 2 Sheets--Shevet Z. J. SPAULDING. 'A

CarpetV-Cleanes.

NoA 141,243. Parenredlulyzgnsn.

AM PHOTO-LIIHUGHAPH/c co. lv. Umana/vs rwacfss.;

UNrTEn i STATES PATENT QFFICE.

J OHN-SPAULDING, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARPET-CLEANERS.l

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 141,243, dated July 29, 1873 application filed March 24, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SPAULDING, of the city and county ot' San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improved Sweeping and Cleaning Attachment to Carpet-Beating Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters marked thereon.

My invention relates to certain improvements in that class of machines known as carpet beating and cleaning machines.` It consists, first, in the. employment and use of a series of rotary brushes upon a reciprocating carriage; second, in al novel manner of constructing the brushes and making them adjustable to compensate for wear. These improvements were made, in part, the subject of a caveat filed by me on or about the 5th day ot April, 1872. They are designed to be used in connection with the beating mechanism in general use at the presenttime,to take the place of hand labor.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation, ou a reduced scale, of a carpet-cleaning machine, showing the part of the machine where the carpet issues after passing beneath the beaters. tion taken from the right-hand side of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of one of the r0- tating arms carrying the brushes that are arranged upon the reciprocating carriage, one ofthe brushes and a portion ofthe arm being in section to show more clearly the manner of securing the brush. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the reciprocating carriage and its track, partly in section. Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the same, through the liney y.

Fig. Sis a perspective view of the frame or clamp used to hold the splints of which the brush-head is composed. Fig. 9 illustrates another and equivalent manner of forming the splint-holding clamps.

The apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings is arranged in such relation to the beating mechanism that the carpet after being acted upon by the beater passes over rollers beneath the brushes, and thence out of the machine. The carpet is represented by x in the drawing, and the direction of its Fig. 2 is a side elevat movement is shown by the arrow in Fig. 2. The rollers R S T draw it forward and present every part ot' its surface in a regular manner to the action of the brushes. The rotary brushes W W and the mechanism from which they derive their motion are illustrated by Figs. l and 2, and the detail views, Figs. 4, 6, and 7. The carriage V travels back and forth in a direction parallel with the axis ot' the rollers R S, and carries the brushes over and in contact with the surface of the carpet from one side to the other of the machine. This reciprocating` movement of the carriage is produced by the action of the connectingrod g and the eccentric h secured upon the shaft i, to which motion is imparted from the pulley-shaft k by means of the pinion l 011 the pulley-shaft and the toothed wheel gearing with it secured on the end of the eccentric shaft z'. bearings for a series of pulleys, e e f f, whose shafts project at one side a short distance from the carriage for the purpose of allowing the arms nn, to be properly secured to the ends of these shafts. Each pulley thus carries and operates an arm,n,-and its brushes W W, and each arm rotates on that side of the carriage opposite to the varms of the pulleys next to it, the brushes of every alternate pulley being upon the same side of the carriage, as shown in Fig. 1. The pulleys e f are ro tated by means of the endless band Y, which passes around the loose pulleys Z Z and over every other pulley of the carriage, and as, through the action of the eccentric h and connecting-rods g, the carriage moves back and forth, the pulleys e f are rotated first in one direction and t-h en in the other. This action of the carriage V and its pulleys e f thus produces both a reciprocating and a rotating movement of the brushesWW, and causes them to act upon the surface of the carpet that is passing beneath them in a thorough manner to expel the dust. The brushes secured to the rotary arms n are rendered adjustable by having the screw-bolt p on the clamp r' pass through a slot in the arm Aand holding it by a nut, s, as shown in Fig. 4.

The clamps used in making the brushes are illustrated in Fig. 8. They are provided with a screw-bolt, p, for securing them in place,

This carriage V is provided with` and with the sides or ears t and rods u for confining and holding the splints composing the broom securely together. When a sufficient quantity of splints is placed in between the sides of the clamp the rods are putin place and held down by means of the catches shown,or in any equivalentmannento keep the splints securely in their place.

Another method of making these clamps to hold the brushes is shown in Fig. 9, where the clamp, instead of being formed in one piece, as shown in Fig. 8, is composed of the sepau rate parts t' t" w, the former parts, t t', having each a screw-bolt, p', and a projecting pin, y, on each side for the catches that hold the rods t t in place, and the latter, w, forming a cap to receive and hold the tops of the splints and prevent them working up during the operation of the machine. This cap w is adjustable, as clearly shown in Fig. 9, in order to permit the splints to be moved down as they decrease in length from wear.

The carriage V and its mechanism is raised or lowered in a vertical direction by means of the roller B and the chains secured to it and to the bars C C forming the tracks, the ends of the bars being held in place by and sliding between the uprights A A of the frame. An oil pan or trough, z, is secured beneath the track and extends upward on each side to catch the drippings from the traveling-carriage and protect the carpet beneath from `being soiled or injured.

I am aware that brushes have been arranged and employed in carpet-cleaning machines to sweep the carpets mechanically, as a substitute for hand labor; but these brushes were caused to operate longitudinal- 1y, or with the travel of the carpet, and not upon a raised surface; and I, therefore, do not claim, broadly, the use of brushes in connection with the beating mechanism of a carpet-machine; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination with the rollers R S T, for opening the Brussels, fiber, or nap, and presenting a raised surface or surfaces of the carpet to the action of the brooms, the series of rotary brooms or brushes W W, mounted upon the reciprocating carriage V and acting to sweep the carpet transversely, constructed and operated substantially as herein described and specified.

2. The reciprocating carriage V and its series of pulleys c e f] and rotating arms n fn, carrying and operating the brushes WV W, when constructed and connected with the mechanism operating it in the manner substantially as herein described and specified.

3. The clamping device i', for confining and holding the splints composing the brushes, when constructed and applied substantially as described.

4. In combination with the reciprocating carriage V and its truck' c c, the oil-pan z, when applied in the manner and for the purpose described and specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set myx hand and seal.

JOHN SPAULDING.

Witnesses:

G. W. M. SMITH, PHILIP MAHLER. 

